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La Dame de Montrose 2015, Saint Estephe

RM298.40

Second wine of Chateau Montrose
Alcohol: 13.5%
Size: 750ml

Grape Variety:

Merlot 55%, Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Petit Verdot 4%

Tasting notes

An intense deep red colour, the second selection of Château Montrose is marked by the terroir: a powerful and expressive nose with complex aromas of black fruit, fine oak, toasty and smoky. The attack on the palate is rich and full. The mid palate, round and completely in harmony, reveals supple and silky tannins. Good length, with aromas of very ripe fruit on the finish. This wine can be enjoyed in its youth while offering good potential for ageing.

Critic Reviews

James Suckling: 94 Points

A very refined red with berries, chocolate and walnuts. Full body and a round, juicy texture. Spicy and salty. Delicious already. Needs two or three years to come together. Second wine of Château Montrose. February 2018

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Description

Chateau Montrose place

The history of Montrose, written in two centuries by three families of owners, is depositary of their spirit, marked by their quest of excellence and legendary vintages. Pioneers in the Médoc, visionary builders and wise

managers, all these families knew how to work and valorise this unique terroir. The estate owes them the foundation on which Montrose builds its image today and its unique place in the world of exceptional wines.

THÉODORE DUMOULIN
THE PIONEER

On his father’s death, Etienne Théodore Dumoulin discovered the patch of heathland that everyone had forgotten about, sold to his family by Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur. That is when started the real history of Château Montrose, written by this “land-clearing man”. He planted the first vines in 1815 and built the necessary buildings for the wine making process.

In 1855, a wonderful consecration, Château Montrose was established as a Second Growth, a recognition all the more spectacular because it honoured a vineyard that was only 40 years old at the time.
Driven by this success, Etienne Théodore Dumoulin never ceased to expand his vineyard. When he died in 1861, he left to his heirs a vineyard of 95 hectares (234 acres), its current size.

MATHIEU DOLLFUS
THE BUILDER

Mathieu Dollfus, a factory owner from Alsace, acquired Montrose in 1866 and began to reorganise the estate. He redeveloped the existing buildings and built new ones, modernised the facilities and introduced new vinegrowing and winemaking methods. From the vineyard to the winery, he endowed Montrose with the best technology available at the time.

He was also a pioneer in human resources, creating ideal, unique and generous working and living conditions for his staff, including housing on the estate, free healthcare and profit sharing.
Designer of the “Montrose village” with its squares and streets, he had a huge influence on the life of the estate. A visionary entrepreneur, he managed to halt the scourge of phylloxera by installing a windturbine which pumped water from an underground well and flooded the land, saving the vineyard. The windturbine, preserved by successive generations of owners, is now one of the symbols of Montrose.

JEAN-LOUIS CHARMOLÜE
THE MANAGER

From 1896 to 2006, following in the footsteps of Mathieu Dollfus the builder after his death in 1886, the Charmolüe family guided the estate along the path of stability and excellence.

For over a century, with these managers at the helm, Montrose steadily enhanced its reputation. The estate regulary produced legendary vintages, maintaining consistently high quality even during difficult times.

Château Montrose remained in the Charmolüe family despite a severe economic crisis and two world wars. In 1960, Jean-Louis Charmolüe started to replant the vineyard and modernise the facilities, consolidating Montrose’s position as one of the finest Médoc wines.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
MARTIN AND OLIVIER BOUYGUES

Succeeding three generations of the Charmolüe family, Martin and Olivier Bouygues acquired Château Montrose in 2006. They loved its wines, to which they had been introduced by their father, Francis Bouygues. Aware of the potential of its unique terroir, they appreciated the advantages and riches of the estate and decided to invest in it. Under their impetus, Montrose entered the 21st century with a spectacular reconstruction.

The exceptional project took seven years, from 2007 to 2013, a timespan justified by the wish to respect the estate’s cycle of activity. The 10,000-m² renovation met four major challenges set by Martin and Olivier Bouygues:
– To give Château Montrose the finest vinegrowing and winemaking facilities, including a new 1,000-m², 11-metre-high main barrel hall where the premium wine can mature in ideal conditions,

– To identify and take advantage of every opportunity to save and produce

energy, especially through a geothermal system and 3,000 m² of rooftop solar panels,

– To respect the environment and significantly reduce the estate’s carbon footprint.

– To preserve the overall architecture of Château Montrose in the typical 18th century Bordeaux style.

Following on from their predecessors, Martin and Olivier Bouygues aim to further enhance this unique terroir, a single sweep in an ideal location on the banks of the Gironde estuary.

Under the direction of Melissa Bouygues and managed by Hervé Berland, the estate benefits from a combination of youth and experience in a multi-generational team in which vinegrowers and winemakers rub shoulders with technical specialists and academic experts.

La Dame de Montrose

Made to the same rigorous standards as the First Wine, from grapes grown in the same vineyard, La Dame de Montrose is the estate’s second label. Supple and silky Merlot generally predominates in the varietal mix. Its very pronounced red fruit aromas and flavours reflect another expression of the terroir in a distinctive style which is less elaborately complex than that of the First Wine.

Consistently reliable and reaching maturity sooner, the wine was created in 1983 in tribute to Yvonne Charmolüe, who ran Château Montrose single-handedly from 1944 to 1960. Production varies from one year to another but accounts on average for 40 à 45% of the total production of the Montrose vineyard. Aged for 12 months in 30% new french oak barrels.

Main characteristics of the vintage

2015 started with a colder winter than in previous years. The start of the season, mild and quite sunny, favoured early bud burst. Quick and uniform flowering took place at the start of June thanks to the exceptional climatic conditions. June and July were dry, marked by water stress leading to a clear slow-down in the development of the vine. Véraison took place early and in a very uniform way between 21 July and 10 August. The showers in September gave us the measure, once again, of the qualities of our terroir: drainage was perfect, and the Cabernet Sauvignon on the plateau bordering the estuary benefited from a very beneficial drying wind. Harvest started from 15 September with an increased team of pickers and continued at a sustained pace until 8 October when picking finished. The grapes were of very good quality, and we further strengthened our ultra-precise plot selection, which sometimes involved several passes through a plot in the search for optimum ripeness. In the cellar, the reception line allowed for precision work: 3 sorting tables for bunches preceded double sorting of the berries, optical then by hand. The vinification, respectful of the identity of our terroir, was tailor-made in tanks of sizes adapted to each of the 55 batches that make up our blending palette. To these were added 7 batches resulting from the precision work carried out at the press. At the time of blending, the richness of the batches allowed us to be extremely precise in the selection for the grand vin, the most drastic in 15 years. The first tastings put this vintage among the great years of Château Montrose.

Period of harvest

September 15th – October 8th

Blend

Merlot : 55%
Cabernet Sauvignon : 41%
Petit Verdot : 4%

Tasting notes

An intense deep red colour, the second selection of Château Montrose is marked by the terroir: a powerful and expressive nose with complex aromas of black fruit, fine oak, toasty and smoky. The attack on the palate is rich and full. The mid palate, round and completely in harmony, reveals supple and silky tannins. Good length, with aromas of very ripe fruit on the finish. This wine can be enjoyed in its youth while offering good potential for ageing.

Source: http://www.chateau-montrose.com/en/millesimes/dame-de-montrose-2014/

Additional information

Weight 1.25 kg
Wine Body

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